About Us
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About Us
The Heart & Soul of Kuumba
Rickie Byars comes from a storied family of educators where innovative ways of learning are deeply rooted in her DNA. Her mother, grandmother, aunties, and brothers were all noted for their "out of the box" approaches to education, serving as professors and guides who challenged traditional norms.
In 2009, observing the limitations of restrictive public education models, Rickie was inspired to create a new kind of educational experience: Kuumba Shule. Her vision was to build a model where children could learn by exploring the things they truly loved to do.
What began as a shared idea among "sister-friends" soon grew into a strategic plan. Working with an original multi-generational team of interdisciplinary artists, Kuumba In Motion Expressing Transformation (KIMET) launched as a vibrant Saturday School.
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From the start, the program was designed to be dynamically creative, constantly re-shaping how the team thought about community and learning. We are guided by fundamental questions that keep our model fresh and innovative:
Listening to Youth
How do adults learn from our children?
Listening to Each Other
How do we truly hear one another's thoughts?
Listening to the Planet
How do we remain in harmony with our world?
While the original vision of a full pre-K through 12th-grade school has not yet manifested in the way Rickie first envisioned, her hope remains steadfast. We believe that with the right people, that dream is still possible.
Today, the Kuumba team remains a devotional force. We are dedicated to encouraging community excellence through the healing power of Devotional Music and the Arts. We joyfully encourage everyone to bring their best to this world and to leave it better than we found it.